disclaimer: i own nothing.

James felt his body ache as he entered the flat he shared with his wonderful wife. His heart swelled as he took notice of her on their sofa, a loving smile appearing on his face as he observed Sirius snuggled up to her in his animagus form. Lily was in the foetal position with one hand placed protectively over her stomach and the other on Padfoot's head. James moved closer, lowering himself to the ground to pick up her discarded blanket before placing it on her, frowning at the goosebumps on her arms. With a kiss to the forehead, he moved away from her.

He felt a stare on him with light footsteps following him into the bedroom. "Don't get used to cuddling with my wife, Padfoot," James teased as he stripped off his shirt. His back was covered in scars that were all too familiar to Sirius' eyes followed by only one addition to the neverending collection that James wore proudly.

"James," his voice was serious. "How's your body holding up?"

"I'm about to collapse," James said as he picked Godric up from his favourite chair. Godric looked up with him in betrayal before glaring up at Sirius as if it were his fault. Sirius rolled his eyes at the creature, although he donned a slight smirk. "Hand me a potion, yeah?"

"Sore?" There was a glint to his eyes.

"Shut it and hand me a potion, you tosser." Laughter was heard throughout the room followed by a brief silence.

"Did we lose anyone?"

"No." The words not tonight lingered in the room. "How was she tonight? She said she was feeling a bit ill this morning."

Sirius shrugged, handing him a blue vial. "Worried. She loves you, you idiot. Lily doesn't like it that she's not able to fight with you, protect you if you get hurt. She's worse than you sometimes."

James sighed. "She's pregnant, Padfoot. She can't go out on the field without risking Harry getting hurt."

"She knows that, but she's worried something will happen to you." His eyes met James' sympathetically. "I don't think either of you would want to survive without the other. Especially not with Harry on the way."

"She's my everything." A smile appeared on his face, but it was soon replaced by a slight frown. "She shouldn't worry so much, that can't be good for him ."

Sirius shook his head at his mate, letting a small snort escape him. "Already the mother hen, aren't we?"

"You can't possibly begin to imagine how much I love him already, Sirius. It's like my heart's about to explode every time I look down at Lily's baby bump or every time I imagine what he'll be like. Whether he'll have Lily's beautiful eyes or mine. Or if he'll like Quidditch or scrunch his nose when he's annoyed. I just want to protect him. I'll–we'll love him forever."

"Even if he eats venison and hates Quidditch?"

"Even then," James vowed. "I'll love him until the very end."

Not long after that, Sirius had gone off to his own flat, claiming that he didn't want to be around when James woke up Lily, who as of late had taken her sleeping very serious.

James glanced towards the sofa where his love, or loves really, still lied. Walking towards her, he couldn't help but smiling broadly. He picked her up gently, laughing lightly as she began to stir, mumbling softly into his chest about stupid prats.

"And here I thought you missed me," he smiled lopsidedly. Brushing aside a lock of red hair, he kissed her forehead. "You know I hate to leave you, but I have to fight–for Harry. He deserves to grow up in a place where he won't be discriminated for what his blood status is. I want him to grow up happy and be able to live in a world without worrying which of his friends or family will be next. We owe him that much, Lil."

She sighed as he put her down on the bed. "I know. I just want it to be over, but I'm scared it's not going to end. I wish I didn't have to worry about you getting hurt. It's bad enough I have to worry about everyone else, but I can't do this without you."

"And you won't have to." Getting into bed with her, he threw the blankets over them both. With her head on his chest, he swore that he would forever fight for a better world for Lily–and for Harry. And staying true to his word, Lily Potter née Evans never had to live even a day with Jame Potter from that moment on.